Trouble in Paradise
by robindjtsd11
Summary: The Batfam is going on a nice family vacation, what could go wrong? When Dick, Jason, Tim, and Damian crash in the middle of the ocean during a thunderstorm, they find themselves washed up on a deserted island. They'll have to rely on their skills and each other to survive until help arrives. If someone actually finds them, that is.
1. The Crash

**Disclaimer: I don't own DC Comics or anything affiliated to Batman.**

**This is pre-reboot with a few elements of the reboot because I refuse to accept that Damian died and I swore off the new 52.**

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"Drake, wipe that grin off your face."

Tim swiveled around in his chair, trying to hide his smile at his brother's misfortune. The plane had hit a bad spot of turbulence and Damian spilled his cranberry juice all over the front of his pants. Dick was trying to help wipe it off with a napkin and Jason was laughing so hard, he snorted. To say that Damian was unhappy would be an understatement.

"No need to be a sourpuss, Dami," Dick chided. He gave up on getting the stain out and threw the wet napkin at Jason. He deflected the damp projectile and it fell to the floor in a red lump.

"Looks like the little bird is having a heavy flow today," he said and cracked up. "You should probably stick a tampon in it." Dick snorted and Jason high-fived Tim. Damian gave his brothers a look of pure hatred and stuck his nose up at them.

The plane went through another bout of bad turbulence and the cabin rattled. Their suitcases shifted in the overhead bins. Tim looked out the window and saw a flash of lightning brighten the stormy sky for a few seconds before returning it to black nothingness. He looked at his chatty brothers nervously.

They were on their way through this terrible storm for a family vacation in Africa. Bruce had shocked them with the news and Jason still thought that the old man was planning some kind of Batman related mission; the boys had brought their suits in case an emergency arose. Trouble seemed to follow them everywhere, no matter where they went.

Bruce said that they needed time off to reconnect and since he had a meaningless Wayne Enterprises meeting in Cape Town, he thought it was the perfect opportunity to take advantage of the locale and take a break from the hero business.

_"Think of it as a training exercise. This will help our teamwork tremendously and give your bodies a much needed rest." The Batcave was filled with silence. A drop of water resonated through the cave, punctuating the silence. The shocked heroes looked at their father-figure with confusion._

_"So, we, as a family, are going on a holiday?" Damian asked slowly. Bruce nodded and smiled at his youngest son._

_"Okay, who are you and what have you done with Bruce Wayne," Dick demanded. Tim crossed his arms and nodded in affirmation towards Dick's comment; Bruce chuckled._

_"Don't worry, it's me. Alfred agreed with my idea and with Stephanie and Oracle here in Gotham, they'll be able to keep control of the city while we're gone," he said._

_"Jason is welcome to come too, if you convince him," he added after a moment. "I think the male side of the family should be all together for once."_

_No one argued with him on that._

Dick, of course, was over the moon, while Damian whined about being stuck with a bunch of imbeciles. Tim, although skeptical, was really looking forward to the trip. He had even managed to coerce Jason to tag along with promises of high-tech weapons and expensive alcohol. Though, Tim did have to use an embarrassing picture of Jason as a threat before the ex-Robin to agreed to come and be on his best behavior.

Tim just couldn't wait to relax and spend time with his family.

The four of them were dressed in casual clothes. Jason was in jeans and a black t-shirt, Tim and Dick in khakis and a sweater—Red and blue respectively—and Damian in jeans and a green button down shirt. They had gotten on the plane in their winter coats, even though they were heading off to sunny Africa, because Gotham was in the middle of one of its famous frigid winters. They almost froze to death on the walk from the car to the plane. Once onboard, the brothers did shed their heavy jackets and sat comfortably in the climate controlled cabin.

"Dick, how much farther until we get to Cape Town?" His brother looked at his watch.

"We'll probably arrive in, like, two hours and Bruce will probably get in five hours after we do with Alfred," he replied. Jason was making faces at Damian and Damian was throwing ice cubes at Jason. Dick tried to be the mature one and intervene by flicking the troublemakers in the ear.

Tim smiled at his brothers' antics and turned back to face the window. It was almost noon, but the thunderstorm made the sky seem as if it was night time. Lightning flashed again in the blackening distance and the plane tilted towards the right and shook back and forth again. The pilot of Bruce's luxury jet spoke over the intercom, silencing the bickering.

"Excuse me, gentlemen. I advise you to fasten your seatbelts and remain in your seats. We are going to pass through some heavy wind and hail. It shouldn't be too bad, but nonetheless, remain seated." All four boys made sure their seatbelts were secured and fastened tightly. They stared at each other silently. Dick was the one to finally break it.

"Wait for it, Little D. The turbulence is going to feel like we're on a rollercoaster!" Damian 'tted' at his older brother's silly response, while Tim face palmed when Dick threw up his arms, acting like a passenger on an actual roller coaster.

The plane hit the brunt of the storm at that moment and shook the boys in their seats. If they had not been buckled in, then they probably would have smacked their heads on the ceiling. Hail beat upon the plane and filled the inside with the sound of its loud ferocity. The lights flickered; the boys looked at each other uneasily. The intensity of the hail increased and the wind howled outside the aircraft, while lightning snaked around the plane.

At that moment, a flash of light and a thunderous BOOM cracked through the air as a lucky lightning bolt hit the wing of the unlucky plane right in front of Tim's window. All four boys gasped in unison and Tim tried to rub the spots out of his eyes from the intensity of the lightning strike. Hail continued to beat mercilessly against the now smoking engine. The jet dropped a few meters in altitude before the pilot's voice crackled through the speakers again.

"It seems like our right engine has taken a beating and can no longer support us in the air." The pilot sounded slightly frantic, but was trying to gain control over the situation. "There are life vests in the compartment underneath your seats and oxygen masks will drop down shortly. The emergency exits are located on the wings of th-"

The speaker cut off as the airplane nose dived towards the violent ocean far beneath them. Yellow masks dropped down from compartments in the ceiling and the boys quickly put them on. Tim finished tying his and looked up at his brothers who were staring, terrified, at each other. Jason and Damian gripped the arms of their seat, while Dick was gesturing at Damian's oxygen mask. The tube had disconnected from the ceiling and was not providing any oxygen. Tim screwed his eyes shut and prayed to whoever was listening, that they'd make it out of this alive.

The plane hit the water sharply, cockpit first, jerking Tim forward and then slamming him back against the seat. He blacked out with the sound of water rushing into the cabin and his last thought before losing consciousness, what a great start to our family vacation.

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**I hope you liked this! This is just a short chapter to test the waters and see if anyone would be interested in a batboys-stranded-on-a-deserted-island fic. I'm almost done with Blood Brothers so I hope to finish and update this one frequently, or as quickly as I can. If you want to see anything special happen to our boys while they're on the island, drop me a review and I'll see if I can incorporate it into the story!**


	2. Survival

Dick was panicking. Their luxury jet had fallen out of the sky, Damian's yellow oxygen mask had disconnected from the air flow, and now two of his brothers might possibly be dead because they were not showing any signs of moving. Jason, meanwhile, was struggling to undo his seat belt with a string of curses.

The crash was one of the most frightening things he had ever experienced and he worked with The Batman. He didn't scream, so much as close his eyes and yell in a very manly way—Jason totally screeched, though. Then the plane had met the roiling ocean. All the lights went out and the jet made a horrible crunching sound as the cockpit was crushed like an empty soda can.

Dick thought that they had died—the whiplash almost killed him and he was sure he had blacked out for a moment or two. When the lights came back on, panic and dread sat like a rock at the bottom of his stomach.

"Tim! Damian!" He shouted frantically at his younger brothers. Water was rushing into the cabin, swirling around their ankles. The plane was sinking nose first and an incline was forming. The lights shut off for a couple seconds before flickering back on.

Tim groaned from his seat, much to Dick's relief. He opened his eyes and held his hand to a bleeding cut on the back of his head. Dick ripped off his seat belt and sloshed through the icy water to his youngest brother. Damian had passed out during their descent because of his faulty oxygen mask. Dick, ever the worried older brother, quickly checked for signs of life.

Feeling a steady heartbeat, Dick released a shaky breath and set to work on freeing the kid. Damian didn't wake up so Dick picked the little boy up and cradled him in his arms. Jason had gotten free of his seatbelt and was helping Tim up.

The water was now up to their thighs.

"Jay, go see if the pilots are okay!" He shouted over the rushing water and creaking metal. Jason nodded and left Tim leaning against his chair before splashing over to the cockpit.

"Grab the flotation thingy under your seat, Timmy," Dick ordered to the dazed boy. Tim shook his head as if to clear it and bent down to retrieve the orange item. Concussion, Dick thought to himself. He was glad that it seemed like the only serious injury, though his neck was pretty sore. Jason sloshed back to the other boys looking worried.

"There's no way those guys are alive. The front looks like it was crushed and it's almost filled up with water," he told Dick. Dick closed his eyes and quickly ran through their options.

"Put on your life vests. We gotta get out of the plane." The boys obeyed, thankfully without their usual snark, and Dick helped the unconscious boy in his arms with his before putting on his own orange vest.

The water was now up to their hips as they made their way up to the emergency exit door. The plane was sinking nose first at a tilted angle so the emergency doors were exposed to the open air, making them possible to open. Jason handed him Tim before shouldering the door open. The outside ocean was still storming and the waves were smashing into the half submerged plane relentlessly. One wing of the plane had been broken off and was now floating slowly away from the boys, leaving jagged edges of metal and sparking wires below the door.

"Jason, you jump down first and I'll throw Tim and Damian down to you. We're gonna swim to the wing," he shouted above the roaring wind.

"Are you crazy? That's almost a ten foot drop!" Jason shouted back.

"The plane's sinking and we're going to sink with it if we don't get far enough away." The jet shook when a wave hit it and then the lights shut off completely, leaving them in the dark. Only the frequent flashes of lightning provided them with light.

Jason opened his mouth to argue again, but thought better of it and jumped into the swirling ocean below. He disappeared under the water for a moment; Dick and Tim held their breath. He resurfaced and bobbed in the water, his bright orange life vest making it possible to see him in the stormy gloom. Another flash of lightning appeared in the clouds above and a crash of thunder soon followed.

Dick let go of the breath he had been holding and nodded at Tim. The younger boy held his nose and jumped in, disappearing and resurfacing just like his brother. Jason pushed Tim towards the airplane wing that was floating away from the jet and turned back towards Dick.

"Ready?" Dick called to his waiting brother and Jason held his hands out. Dick gave Damian a quick squeeze before dropping him. Jason caught him easily and held him above the water. He motioned at Dick to follow and swam after Tim, who was already seated on the metal wing and looking worriedly at his brothers.

Thinking quickly, Dick waded his way back down to their seats, feeling his way down the aisle. The water was rising with each passing second; the howling wind and screaming metal of the broken aircraft barely registered above the noise of his racing heart. He threw open the overhead compartments and grabbed the two closest bags, not taking any notice of what they looked like or who they belonged to. He hauled the bags, filled with whoever's gear and necessities, to the exit. Once there, he steadied himself against the side of the bobbing plane.

Dick was about to jump into the sea, but spotted a prodigious wave bearing down on the Jason and the still unconscious Damian. He screamed at his brothers and Tim, spotting the wave, yelled desperately at the swimming birds. Their voices were lost in a roar of thunder. Jason stopped at stared at the approaching giant. He clutched Damian closer and closed his eyes. The wave crushed them and they disappeared from view.

Dick slipped from his position when the wave collided the plane and, as an instinct, let go of the bags and grabbed at the edge where the jagged metal was. The metal sliced into his hands and arms, and with a yelp of pain, he let go and continued his fall into the icy ocean water. The air in his lungs rushed out of his mouth in a _whoosh_ of bubbles as the salty water stung his cuts.

He burst through the surface spluttering, looking around frantically for his brothers. He wasn't sure if they had resurfaced or not. He was relieved to see Jason hauling Damian up on the floating metal before retching water back into the ocean. Tim patted his brother on the back, while Damian sat up and looked confused. Dick couldn't see very well through the veil of rain that continued to pelt the boys and the rolling ocean.

The vigilante pushed himself to swim towards his waiting brothers, his injuries screaming in agony from the salty water. He grabbed hold of the two bags that had, miraculously, stayed near him through his fall and dragged them behind him. It was hard work making his way through the waves and rain with the added baggage, but he finally reached the other boys, who pulled him and the luggage up on makeshift raft. It was now submerged a little under the water because of the extra weight. Dick laid there for a few moments to catch his breath.

"Are you okay?" he finally asked Jason, who was still coughing up water. He nodded and pointed at Damian.

"The little demon sunk me when I tried to keep him above the water," he managed to croak out.

"What about you, Timmy?"

"I'll live," he said, helping Jason sit up.

Dick crawled over to his youngest brother, who was staring in shock at the sinking plane. He tapped the little bird on the shoulder before pulling him into a hug.

"What the hell happened while I was out?" he asked. Dick chuckled before looking back towards the jet through sheets of rain almost obscuring his view.

The back half of the aircraft was splitting apart from the submerged part, shrieking and grinding. It fell to the water with a thunderous splash. The waves caused by the fall propelled the four boys away from the crash site. The wind still howled around them and the rain stung their frozen skin; they huddled together for warmth and comfort, though after this incident they would all vehemently deny that this cuddling had ever happened.

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**I'm so happy that you guys are interested in this story. It's definitely fun to write so we'll see where this goes. Thanks for all the reviews; I was too lazy to reply individually, but I will next time. Again, if you want to see something awesome and/or terrible happen to the batboys, drop me a review and I'll see if I can fit it in. Until next time!**


	3. Drifting

Jason hugged his knees and gazed out into the ocean. The thunderstorm, having run it's course, gave way to a clear, starry night. He had to admit that, away from the light pollution of the big city, the night sky was breathtaking.

They had been floating on their makeshift raft for a couple hours now, waiting for someone to come up with a plan. So far, they had none. Tim had told him the approximate time, around one in the morning; Jason's watch had shorted out in the water. Tim also told him that they were somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic—around the 20 degree longitude line—judging from the position of the constellations. Jason just nodded and stared at the ocean when he went into more in-depth detail about the Earth's rotation and how early sailors navigated by the stars.

Dick and Damian were cuddling on the other side of the wing, keeping warm, a light breeze nipping at their exposed skin. They had dozed off a while ago and neither Jason nor Tim had the heart to wake them. Dick had ripped off pieces of his shirt to wrap around the gashes on his hands. If they weren't careful, those cuts would become infected.

The suitcases sat in the middle of the raft, but no one felt like going through them quite yet. They were still in shock.

Jason was already over the plane crash and being stranded at sea—stranger things had happened to him. Now, he was extremely bored. He almost wished a shark would try to eat them so he would at least have something to do.

"Do you think they're looking for us yet?" Tim asked. He already knew the answer, but was just tired of the silence. Even the waves were quietly lapping at the edges of the raft, slowly pushing them through the water.

"No. Bruce'll probably start when he lands, but our chances are zip unless a miracle happens," Jason said. Tim rubbed his face and hugged his knees like Jason, resting his cheek on the tops and studying the ocean. Jason suppressed a shiver. "It's fucking cold out here."

The boys were soaked to the bone from the combination of the rain and the swim they had taken to get to their raft. Damian shivered and snuggled closer to Dick. The little demon was almost adorable when he was unconscious.

"The sun should be up in a couple hours. It'll warm up pretty quick after that."

Jason looked up at the sky. So far, he hadn't seen any airplanes cutting through the black and no ships had sailed by. It was as if the four brothers were the last people on Earth.

"This would happen to us," Jason said, suddenly. Tim squinted his eyes, trying to see his brother in the dark.

"What do you mean?"

"We're superheroes. We've fought mobsters and aliens, but a normal ass plane crash is going to be the one thing to take us down. It's just our luck," he said. Tim rolled his eyes so that even Jason could see it in the dark from where he was sitting.

"Don't be so melodramatic. Plane crashes aren't that normal and we're also the sons of a billionaire. There's going to be a massive manhunt and I wouldn't be surprised if Superman showed up to help. We just have to survive until they find us." Jason would have said something negative, just to rile Tim up-he was that bored-but he spotted something off in the distance.

"Do you see that?"

"See what?" Tim asked. Jason pointed and Tim's eyes widened. "Is that an island?"

A black smudge on the horizon grew bigger with each passing second. Feathery shapes detached themselves from the gloom to form the outlines of palm trees. Jason crawled over to his sleeping brothers.

"Yo, Dickiebird. Wake up!" Dick blinked up at him.

"Wha'?"

"Land ahoy," Jason said, grinning. Dick shot up, almost knocking heads with Jason, and untangled himself from Damian. The younger boy rolled over and continued sleeping.

"Is there really? Where?" Tim pointed at the growing shape in the distance and motioned for Dick to come closer to him.

"We need to paddle towards it somehow," Tim said, rubbing his temples in thought. "Tearing metal sheets off the wing won't work. We'll have to use our bodies as paddles instead."

"Someone's gotta push the raft to shore," Jason clarified, not liking the idea.

"What's going on?" A drowsy voice questioned them. Jason turned to the youngest Robin, but Dick beat him to it.

"There's an island in the distance, Lil' D." Damian's head followed Dick's outstretched arm.

"How are we going to get there?" He asked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"Jason and I are going to get in the water and push, while you guys navigate," Tim said.

"Hold up now, why do I have to get in the water?" Jason complained.

"Because you're the strongest out of all of us and Dick's injured, so suck it up."

Jason grumbled to himself before removing his shirt and boots and sliding into the frigid water. He yelped in surprise; he was not expecting the water to be _that_ cold. He grumbled under his breath and took back his wish for a shark to pick a fight with them.

Jason grabbed hold of the slippery metal wing, making sure he had a good grip. He looked up at Tim. "What are you waiting for, Replacement?"

Tim rolled his eyes and removed his boots, opting to keep his shirt on, before joining Jason in the water. He teeth chattered with the cold, but otherwise he gave no indication that he was uncomfortable.

"You guys good?" Dick asked, looking down at them.

"Just peachy," Jason replied, glaring.

"Then start kicking, you imbeciles." That earned Damian a glare from both Jason and Tim.

The two brothers kicked their legs and slowly pushed the makeshift raft forward. They continued in silence for a couple minutes until Jason began muttering curses under his breath. Tim sighed, but otherwise focused on the task at hand.

Minutes passed. A half hour went by.

"Are we there yet," Jason called out. He was definitely _not_ wheezing, but he was getting close.

"Yeah, it's only a couple hundred yards out now," Dick said, sleepily.

"Describe it to us," Tim said.

"It's, uh, pretty small," Dick continued. "Definitely smaller than Hawaii, but still decent sized."

"What's on it, Dick?" Tim said, sounding a little frustrated.

"Oh, there's a long beach and a lot of palm trees and a little mountain-slash-hill in the middle of the jungle." Jason's attitude instantly brightened at the mention of the palm trees. Palm trees were good—they meant food.

"Any sign of freshwater?" Tim questioned.

"There does not appear to be any, but if there is a forest, there must be some form of a water source," Damian answered.

The boys quieted down, lost in their own thoughts. No water was a very, very bad thing. Jason's body felt like lead from the exertion of the swim and his tongue felt like sandpaper in his mouth. He was desperately thirsty, now that he thought about it. He was tempted to drink the salty ocean water, but the fact that the water would probably kill him instead of relieving his thirst was enough to dissuade him.

Jason opened his mouth to complain, but snapped it shut with an audible click. Tim looked at him, bewildered. Something had brushed up against Jason's leg. Something big. He stopped kicking and tried to slow his breathing down.

"What is it?"

"Something hit my leg," he whispered. Tim's eyes widened and looked down fearfully.

"Dick, how far away are we?" He asked, his voice strained. The thing hit Jason's leg again and he gulped, trying not to panic.

"We're really close, Timmy. Like fifty yards out," Dick answered peeking over the side at them. He took in the sight of his two brothers, pale and rigid, not moving at all. "What's wrong? Are you guys okay?"

Tim ignored him, "Jason, did you feel it again?" Jason nodded, face ashen. "Okay, I felt it too. It might be a shark."

"Guys... I think I see a fin," Dick said. Tim and Jason looked at each other and scrambled onto the raft. Dick and Damian help them up as the approaching fin, no, fins reached the boys. Then a dolphin popped its head above the water while its friends circled around the wing. It chirped curiously, swimming closer for a better look.

"You're right, Drake. It's such a terrifying creature. It could rip us all to shreds," Damian said, rolling his eyes. The dolphin spit water from its mouth and hit Damian square in the face before laughing with high pitched squeaks and following its family underneath the waves.

Tim, Dick, and Jason were silent for a moment before they burst out laughing. Damian huffed and wiped the water out of his eyes, then crossed his arms and scowled at his brothers. By the time the wing scraped against the sandy beach, they were doubled over, crying. The jolt from hitting land sobered them up, however, and they quickly hopped off.

"Land! Oh, how I've missed you." Dick flopped to his stomach and kissed the ground.

"I think he drank too much seawater," Jason stage whispered to Tim and made the crazy sign with his finger.

"Shut it, Jay," Dick said, getting up and brushing the sand from his damp pant legs.

"What are we going to do now?" Damian asked, appearing by Jason's side. Jason jumped in the air, cursing; he had not heard the little bird sneak up on him.

"It's too dark to do anything," Tim answered, lying down on the white sand. He crossed his arms behind his head and closed his eyes. "We should get some sleep before the sun comes up. We can explore then."

"Who's going to keep watch?" Jason asked. His muscles ached from the long swim and his throat screamed for some water.

"Are you afraid something's going to eat you, Todd," Damian taunted. Jason glared at his younger brother and Dick intervened before the situation could get ugly.

"I'll take first watch. I slept on the raft."

"Are you sure, Dick?" Tim asked, opening his eyes and sitting up. "You hurt your hands pretty bad."

"Just a scrape, Timmy. Now go to sleep," he ordered. Tim shrugged and laid back down. Damian did the same, curling up a couple feet away from his older brother. "Jay come help me."

Jason followed Dick back to the raft and grabbed his t-shirt. It was mostly dry so he put it back on, glad that he had the foresight to take it off before he jumped in the water.

"Help me drag this on to the sand before it washes away." Dick grabbed one end and Jason the other. They dragged it backwards, onto the beach, their arms straining.

After a couple grunts and a few choice words, the metal wing was safely out of reach of the tide. Dick grabbed the suitcases he had salvaged from the wreck and sat down with them near his sleeping brothers. Tim was snoring quietly, his mouth hanging slightly open, and the demon spawn was curled up like a cat. Jason had the strange urge to pet his head.

"What's in the cases?"

"I don't know yet," Dick answered looking up at Jason. "I just grabbed the two closest bags. I'll go through them while you guys grab a couple of hours."

"Okay, just don't think you can horde the good stuff for yourself while I'm not looking," Jason warned, laying down next to Tim. "If it's my bag, I know what I packed."

"Go to sleep, Jason," Dick said, rolling his eyes and then he smirked. "I'll make sure no sharks come and eat you during the night."

"Oh, bite me, Grayson." Dick chuckled and Jason closed his eyes. The sounds of crashing waves washed over him and soon he was sucked into a dark, dreamless sleep.


	4. The Search

"What do you mean the plane crashed?" Bruce asked.

He was pretty sure the policeman in front of him was playing some sort of practical joke. His jet was state of the art and top of the line. There was no way it could simply crash.

"We received a mayday from the pilot, but there was too much static from the storm to make it out clearly and then the transmission cut out shortly before the plane hit the water. We're sending out a rescue team now."

Bruce stared at the man, panic knocking any coherent thoughts out of his mind. He and Alfred had landed twenty minutes ago and they had barely taken two steps into the stifling African heat when they were intercepted by airport security and brought to a small, hot room. He had feared that his boys had accidentally killed each other on the way over or the police had found the weapons Jason brought with him—even though it was supposed to be a family vacation.

It was much worse than he thought.

"Thank you very much," Alfred said, interrupting Bruce's inner dialogue and saving him from embarrassment. "Please, let us know if you need any help with the search or if you find any useful information."

"Yes, sir," the man said and opened the door. He turned back towards the two men with a look of sympathy. "I'll have some officers escort you to your hotel. We'll keep the press at bay in the meantime, Mister Wayne." He shut the door, leaving the two men alone.

"Master Bruce, is there anyway you can track the boys?" Alfred asked, turning his attention back to his employer. He was, of course, referring to the tracking devices he had put on all of the Robins, past and present.

"If they survived, the water would have shorted out the trackers and Tim probably found and destroyed his before they boarded the plane," he replied.

"Do you think this was an act of foul play?"

Bruce narrowed his eyes. "If it is, I will find out who's responsible."

He took out his phone and punched in a number before putting it to his ear. He glanced around the room, looking for security cameras. Satisfied with finding none, he relaxed, some tension leaving his shoulders, while the phone rang.

"Hello?" A voice on the other side of the phone said.

"Clark," Bruce said in greeting. "I need your help."

"What is it? What happened?" Clark questioned. "I thought you were on vacation." He sounded worried. In the background, Bruce could hear the din of the Daily Planet fade as his friend climbed the stairs to the rooftop where he could speak in private, without any nosy journalists listening in on the conversation.

"We were, but the boys' plane crashed on the way over here. I need you to find them."

There was a rustling on the other side. "I'll be right there."

"You can't be seen here with me as Superman or Clark Kent. That'll raise too many questions. I'm sending you the coordinates of their last known location. Let me know if you find anything." Bruce hung up and quickly texted his friend the coordinates the security officer had given him.

He sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. So much for a relaxing break from crime and tragedy, he thought. Alfred placed a comforting hand on his employer's shoulder.

"Don't worry, Mast Bruce; we'll find them. If anyone can survive a plane crash, it'll be our boys."

"I just hope they can survive each other," he said. "They all have their demons and most of the time they can't stand being around the family. Cooperation is essential and they can't work together if the heightened stress makes them want to slit each other's throats."

"Maybe this little excursion will help solve some of those problems."

"Mister Wayne, Mister Pennyworth? The car's here." The voice interrupted the conversation. The escort was ready to take the two men to their hotel room for the night. From there, Bruce could set up camp and figure out how and why the plane crashed. Bruce turned towards his butler and clapped a hand on the old man's shoulder.

"I hope so, Alfred. I hope so."

* * *

Clark circled one last time around the area Bruce had told him to look. The plane was easy enough to find, nestled at the bottom of the ocean, the marine life already beginning to claim the wreckage as their own. He found the mangled remains of the pilots, but no sign of the boys. Clark left the bodies for the search and rescue team to find; they were only a few miles out from the site.

He followed a trail of debris drifting in the current, but saw no indication of where the Robins had gone. He noticed that the wing of the jet was missing and guessed that they used that as a raft. Other than that, there were no clues. Bruce had not told him the reason the plane crashed, but he was able to rule out an outside enemy because there were no bullet holes or damage that would match a weapon.

Frustrated with his lack of success, Clark flew in an outwards spiral from the crash site, scouring the ocean. He could not hear the sound of breathing separate from the rescuers on the boat, which meant the boys were not in the vicinity. He would not let himself even consider the possibility that they had died. With the lives they lived, a plane crash was on the bottom of the list of things they had to worry about. His hope for their survival was supported by the fact that there were no bodies.

But it was like they had disappeared without a trace.

Giving up, Clark stopped in midair and pulled out his cellphone. He dialled Bruce and braced himself for the tirade that would come. A bird squawked at him as it flew by towards land.

"What did you find," the brusque voice demanded when Bruce picked up.

"You're not going to like this," Clark began. His red cape flapped in the salty breeze. He would have to have Ma wash the sea smell out of it when he got home. "I found the plane and the two dead pilots, but there was no sign of the boys or where they could have gone. The plane didn't look like it had been shot at and there is no sign of the bodies."

"Are you telling me they've disappeared?" Bruce asked coldly. "People don't just disappear, Clark."

"I can't find them, Bruce. Have you tried their trackers or something?"

"I'm not getting a signal from any of the trackers I placed on them."

"Maybe the locals will be able to help more than I can," Clark said, sadly. He didn't like not being useful. "I'm sorry, Bruce. I wish there was more I could do."

"See if Lois knows anything about crime in the area. DIdn't she write an article about human trafficking in the area a couple of months ago?"

"Yes she did! I'll see if she knows anything. Anything specific I should ask her?"

"No. I just have a theory, but I need all the information I can get," Bruce said, distracted.

"Alright. I'll get back to you soon. I hope you find them." With that, Clark ended the call and put away his phone.

He glanced once more at the rolling ocean, wishing it would somehow divulge all of its secrets to him. With an exasperated sigh, Clark turned himself towards Metropolis and flew home.

* * *

**This was just a short little chapter to show what's happening on Bruce's end. Why do you think Superman couldn't find the boys? All will be explained in time. ;)**


End file.
